Marien



y 1952 I c. MARlEN 2,597,155

BELT BUCKLE Filed June 24, 1949 I 4// INVENTOR. 6/9/77622 f {catia/z AT TORNEYS.

Patented May 20, 1952 OFFICE;

,25591155 BT B KLE Clement Mafien, Attleborn;;Massgassigotto: Swanklnc; acorporationofllalawate Amieationju'neM, 19493 Seriali-m 10134197 st elaims (CI.

ihventin relates to: a: belt bushi& of the: type used for' holding" the overlapping' end; por-'-` tio'ns ora; belt-which passes throughtrouser loops and about the waist ot the'. wearere.

Heretofore, the belt. buckle' of the above: type, comprised a front plate: with. some: sor tof: a: clampto press 'th'e buckle' towardtheifrontv plate, or in some cases a framemay be; usedof a: width wider than the belt, with some opening:- iri the' belt throughvwhichsome tongueexteridd; to; hold the: overlappihg portion of' the; belt, in; adjsted pcsitiom One; of the object& of' this 'invention` to` pro vide am ornainental face; for the; buckle which: Willi bei of' open work` configuratibn having` an` irregular periphery: whicl forms a` design which alone will show on the front surface of the: belt;

Another object of the invention is to provide an open work configuration for the face of the buckle which; has the illusion of being` looped about the belt with no support other. than the belt, so that. the, design or outline periphery of the face, is of'th'e orn'amental shape desired and will ccntrast against the' be1t;. to stand out: as part-of thedesignof theface.

Another object oftheinvention: is toz. entirely ccnceal behind the beltaframe or holdifig means for theface of the buckle so that it willnota be visible and will in no way meet the eye to'deu tract from the appearance of the ornamental face.

Another object of the invention is to provide a construction whereby the ornamental face may be interlocked with the frame, that the two may be assembled in a simple manner.

Another object of the invention is to provide frame or back of the buckle which will be uniform for all buckles of this character and yet which may have various forms of fronts attached thereto.

Another object of the invention is to provide an assembly between the front and the frame of the buckle so that the assembly of the particular subject may be made at the retail establishment which sells the buckle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a detachable connection between the front of the frame so that one front may be interchangeable with other fronts.

Another object of the invention is to utilize the ornamental cut out front as a means against which the belt may be pressed for clamping the same in position.

With these and other ob-iects in view, the invetmen consists; ai: certain never will be more muy described hereinafiten p'ointed out specificaliy the appenied cmim&`

In the accompan'ying drawing&

Figure 1 is a top plan: view showing a. faza g' mentalpontion of* the'belt with; thebmkle mounted thereon Figura 21 is a' side elmation ofi the; 'structure shots/ mirr Figura 1"? Figure 3 is a sectional view on line ofiFg ure.- 1;

l igure 4 isi a perspect-ive Viw' ot the' back-le: alb n i Eigurez is a. perspective Viw of: one part: of: the frame;

Fi'gure: 7 isaperspective view of the other part of the frame; c'ompl'ementsa theipaftshown in; Figura 6:;1

Figura 8. is' a perspectiyez View of 'one of; froni-s; which. are: used connection: with: the bi'ckle;

Figur e: is; ai perspective view ofr a. fragmental portionof a modified; form. of bickie front; and

Eigure: 10` is* a. sectinal. view showing, the ;as-s sembly ofc the buckie front. of Fighre with; az frame:

Figure ll is ai sectionali View' similar-'toi Figura; 3 showing the clamp in released position.

In proceeding with this invention, I provide a frame of a width which will be entirely concealed by the belt with which it is to be used, and provide a front of a cut out conguration, such as an initial which will extend across the face of the belt and which will reach around the edges of the belt and engage the frame which is concealed so as to support the front in position. The portions which reach around the edge of the belt also serve to space the front from the frame so that the belt may be inserted between the two and thus the cut out front alone will show when mounted upon the belt. Some clamping means may be used for forcing the belt against the rear side of the front so as to hold the belt clamped in the buckle. This same clamping means may provide an attachment for the end of the belt so that the clamp will operate upon tension being applied to the belt to further force the clamp against the belt.

With reference to the drawings, in greater detail, I provide a frame which I designate o of generally rectangular shape, having side bars ll-Il and end bars l2--l2. The front is desi nated generally l3 and in the particular illustration which is here shown comprises one or more initials, shown in this particular instance as two initials, although any subject, whether it is initials, sports, or other subjects, may be used. The front !3 will in each case have its periphery conform in outline to the initial or subject and will usually be pierced or provided with openings so as to provide a so-called cut-out or open-work configuration, such as for instance the letter A" shown in Figure 8, with the side legs 14, !4 and the top l5 and cross bar !6, as shown in Figures 1, 4 and 8.

The front may also have a second initial such as the letter "B" and designated H, as shown in Figures 1 and 4, also of cut out conguration in the particular instance here shown so as to provide openings l8, |9 through which the belt may be seen. The front [3 has portions --20 extending rearwardly and then extending inwardly as at 22 to provide a belt channel. The portions 22 have inter-looking engagement with the frame;

such as by means of 'the reversely bent arms 23 and 24 to grip the side bars ll-Il of the frame, which side bars may be recessed, as at 25 (see Figure 5) to receive them;

In some cases instead of having reversely bent arms the downward extending portion 23 may be slid and bent inwardly as at 26 (see Figs. 9 and 10), so as to fit into notches 21 in the bars ll of the frame.

The frame may be built up by a shell, designated generally 30 (see Figr'l), drawn up with side walls 3l and end walls 32 and inner walls' 34 andrbottom wall 33 with an open center into which a rectangular structure 35, as shown in Figure 6 may be dropped with the walls 34 bent outwardly into the reduced portions 31-31 of the frame so as* to hold the same in place. Notches 25 are provided in the top surface of the assembly for receiving the detachable front for holding the portions 24 of the front in place against sliding along the frame. The notches 38 present tapered surfaces so that the edge of 24 as forced into position will be gradually fiexed inward and will then snap into the recess 39 between the portion and' bottom wall 33 of the two frame parts. 'The bars ll-H also are provided with ears 40 extending downwardly which pivotlyl mount a bail 4! which carries the rocking clamps 42 to press against the belt 43 when in the position shown in Figures 1-3, forcing it against the surface of the front l3, as shown in Figure 3. This bail and clamp may swng about their pivots to the dotted line position shown in Figure 3 so that this clamp will not impinge on the channel in the front l3 thus leaving the belt so that it may move freely through the channel for adjustment. When tension is applied to the belt parts the bail and its clamp will automatically Swing to cause the clamp to engage the belt and hold it in position.

By this arrangement the front may be assembled upon the frame at the point of ultimate use.

I claim: 1. In a belt buckle. a frame of a width no greaterthan the width of the belt to be held having side and end bars, a front having a face plate with side flanges of a width sufflcient to form a channel for said belt, means to attachably connect said side fianges to said side bars, a clamping member movably mounted on said frame, and a bail on said clamping member for attaching the end of the belt thereto and for moving the member to force the belt against the front whereby through tension on the attached belt end the belt portion in the front channel is clamped in the channel. e

2. In a belt buckle asin claim 1 'whereininterlooking means comprise the attachable means.

3. In a belt buckle as in claim 1 wherein'recesses are provided in the side bars of the frame and projections are formed'on the flanges of the front to extend thereinto, said flanges being resilient to spring apart to provide for the connection.

CLEMENT MARIEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 'Date 1,784,'794 Rosenberg Jan; 9, 1930 

